WQXR to Broadcast Richard Tucker Music Foundation's 2017 Gala and MESSIAH at Trinity Church Wall Street

Classical music lovers around the world can share in two longstanding New York City institutions beginning this weekend, as both the Richard Tucker Music Foundation's annual gala concert on Sunday, December 10 (6pm ET), and the first of Trinity Church Wall Street's annual performances of Handel's Messiah on Friday, December 15 (7:30pm ET), are broadcast by WQXR, New York City's only all-classical music station, at WQXR 105.9 FM and www.wqxr.org.

The Tucker Gala, one of the most highly anticipated operatic events of the season, takes place in its original venue at Carnegie Hall for a second year after more than a quarter century's absence, and features the 2017 Richard Tucker Award-winner, soprano Nadine Sierra, along with a host of operatic luminaries. At Trinity Church, a few days later, the Grammy-nominated Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, and Director of Music Julian Wachner can be seen and heard in the first of three sold-out accounts of Handel's beloved oratorio in the historically informed, period-instrument rendition that the New York Times considers "revelatory."

Each year the Richard Tucker Music Foundation confers the prestigious Richard Tucker Award on an artist poised at the edge of a major international career. This year's recipient, soprano Nadine Sierra, will be joined in the Gala by sopranos Ailyn Pérez and Tamara Wilson and mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, all of whom are past Tucker Award-winners; mezzo-sopranos Tara Erraught and Ekaterina Semenchuk; countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo; tenors Javier Camarena and Vittorio Grigolo; baritone Anthony Clark Evans; and bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel. This star-studded evening of beloved arias and ensembles from the works of Donizetti, Handel, Puccini, Verdi and more will be led by Nicola Luisotti, with the New York Choral Society and members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

IF YOU GO:

Richard Tucker Music Foundation presents:
2017 RICHARD TUCKER GALA
Sunday, December 10 at 6pm ET/3pm PT (broadcast live at WQXR 105.9 FM and wqxr.org)
Carnegie Hall, New York City

2017 Richard Tucker Award winner Nadine Sierra

Winners of past Richard Tucker Awards and honored guests:

Ailyn Pérez, soprano (2012 Richard Tucker Award winner)
Tamara Wilson, soprano (2016 Richard Tucker Award winner)
Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano (1999 Richard Tucker Award winner)
Tara Erraught, mezzo-soprano
Ekaterina Semenchuk, mezzo-soprano
Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor
Javier Camarena, tenor
Vittorio Grigolo, tenor
Anthony Clark Evans, baritone
Sir Bryn Terfel, bass-baritone

Maestro Nicola Luisotti
Members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
New York Choral Society

Program to feature works by composers including Donizetti, Handel, Puccini, and Verdi

Trinity Church Wall Street presents:
HANDEL'S MESSIAH
Friday, Dec 15 at 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT (broadcast live at WQXR 105.9 FM andwqxr.org)
Saturday, Dec 16 at 7:30pm
Sunday, Dec 17 at 3pm
Trinity Church, Broadway at Wall Street, New York City

The Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor

All three performances will also be live-streamed by Trinity. After the final live stream, one performance will be available on demand. To watch in real time, visit trinitywallstreet.org any time during the performance, and click the orange button that appears in the upper right-hand corner whenever a service or performance is being streamed live. To watch on-demand video after the live events have passed, visit the music video portal.

Almost 250 years ago, Trinity Church Wall Street was instrumental in pioneering Handel's Messiah in the Americas. Trinity Church not only hosted the second American performance in 1770, but also played a part in the American premiere just eight months earlier. Today, Wachner and The Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra rank among the foremost exponents of the perennial holiday favorite. Early music experts who play on period instruments and specialize in Baroque performance practice, they offer an authentic approach that, as the Wall Street Journal put it, "demonstrate[s] why historically informed performance makes a difference."

WQXR 105.9 FM, which streams live at www.wqxr.org, is New York City's only all-classical music station, immersing listeners in the city's rich musical life. WQXR presents new and landmark classical recordings as well as live concerts from Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera, and the New York Philharmonic, among other venues. WQXR also broadcasts essential destination programs including New York Philharmonic This Weekand Young Artists Showcase. For listeners in search of the new, WQXR operates New Sounds, a hand-crafted, genre-free home for the musically curious, with a 24/7 radio station, a slate of podcasts, and live video sessions with dynamic and emerging artists, all available at newsounds.org. Operavore is WQXR's opera site featuring news, interviews, and commentaries from the world of opera, as well as a 24/7 all-opera stream. WQXR.org provides essential playlist information and online listening, as well as original content, host blogs, NYC cultural news, and videos. The station's free mobile app allows listeners to take WQXR with them wherever they go. As a public radio station, WQXR is supported by the generosity of its members and sponsors, making classical music relevant, accessible and inspiring for listeners in New York City and around the globe.

Founded in 1975, the Richard Tucker Music Foundation is a non-profit cultural organization dedicated to perpetuating the artistic legacy of the great Brooklyn-born tenor by nurturing the careers of talented young American opera singers. Through awards, grants for study, performance opportunities, and other activities, the foundation provides professional development for singers at various stages of their careers. It also offers free performances in the New York metropolitan area, and supports music education enrichment programs. Each year, the foundation confers its most prestigious prize, the Richard Tucker Award, on an artist poised at the edge of a major international career. Often referred to as the "Heisman Trophy of Opera," the award comes with a $50,000 cash prize as well as the ongoing support of the Tucker family and foundation. Past winners include Lawrence Brownlee, Stephen Costello, Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Deborah Voigt, and Dolora Zajick.

Trinity Church Wall Street is a growing Episcopal community that seeks to serve and heal the world by building sustainable communities, generations of faithful leaders, and neighborhoods that live Gospel truths. The mission is grounded in Trinity's core values: faith, integrity, inclusiveness, compassion, social justice, and stewardship. Trinity is located in the heart of Manhattan's Financial District, where it has created a dynamic home for music. Serving as director of Trinity's music program - as well as principal conductor of The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, the period-instrument Trinity Baroque Orchestra, and contemporary-music ensemble-in-residence NOVUS NY - Julian Wachner also oversees all liturgical, professional and community music programming at Trinity Church and St. Paul's Chapel. Music at Trinity ranges from large-scale oratorios to chamber music, and from intimate a cappella singing to jazz improvisation. Many concerts at Trinity are professionally filmed and streamed live and available on-demand at www.trinitywallstreet.org/videos. The Rev. Dr. William Lupfer is Rector of Trinity Church Wall Street and the Rev. Phillip Jackson is Vicar of Trinity Church Wall Street.

Pictured: Nadine Sierra performs at the Richard Tucker Music Foundation's 2016 gala (photo: Dario Acosta); Messiah at Trinity Church (photo: Trinity Church Wall Street)